It’s 6:45 AM. The gym is quiet except for the hum of the air conditioning, and I’m sitting on the bench with a protein shake, scrolling through an email from a reader.
She’d sent me a screenshot of a headline: “Low-carb diets could shorten life.” She wanted to know if it was worth ditching her carbs.
I’ve been asking the same question for a while. So I dug into the original studies.
The Finding
None of the nine studies used to build that headline actually examined low carb diets.
The three papers that drove the panic — Noto 2013, Seidelmann, and Mazidi 2019 — all pooled population studies. They didn’t run clinical trials. And here’s the kicker: the “low carb” group in most of those studies wasn’t low carb at all.
In some studies, the lowest carb intake was 50% or higher of total calories. That’s not low carb. That’s a regular diet with slightly fewer carbs.
Why This Matters
When a headline says “low carb could kill you,” it implies someone actually tested low carb and found a problem. But the data behind that claim barely touched a true low carb diet.
I went through the Mazidi 2019 paper myself and found several errors. The more I looked, the more came up. My notebook is full of questions about that study, and I’ll break them down in a follow-up post.
What You Should Do
If you’re eating a low carb diet and feeling good, don’t let one headline scare you off. But here’s the honest truth: population studies have limits, and this is a YMYL topic. This isn’t professional medical advice — if you’re making big dietary changes, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian.
The key takeaway? A headline isn’t a study. The studies behind the headline weren’t looking at what you think they were.
Your Move:
- Step 1: Read the actual study, not just the headline. Five minutes, one PDF, zero anxiety.
- Step 2: Check the carb percentage in the “low carb” group. If it’s 50% or higher, it’s not low carb.
- Step 3: If your diet feels right and your bloodwork is good, keep doing what’s working.